Backstage With: Lightning in a Bottle
Photo Credit: Daniel Zetterstrom
Sixteen years ago, The Do Lab got its start by throwing parties for friends in the LA forest. Now, they’re best known for playing host to a multi-sensorial stage at Coachella and their flagship festival, Lightning in a Bottle. We caught up with co-founder of The Do LaB, Jesse Flemming, and hear what it was like to go from a celebration for 150 to 15,000 people while still keeping the magic.
You started by throwing a weekend birthday party with friends. Now you’re throwing a full-blown festival for over 15,000 people. How has Lightning in a Bottle evolved over the years?
It’s been a long, slow, organic progression. We started with 150 people. The first four years, it was free for our friends and we paid for it out of pocket.
The fifth year, we decided we wanted to open it up to more people. We charged $20, and we were terrified of the response we would get because it was always free before. Nobody complained about it, everybody paid. There were about 700 people that year.
By this time, we were going to Coachella and Burning Man, and we were really inspired by both of those festivals. We were like, “Let’s turn Lightning in a Bottle into a 3-day camping festival.” We found this beautiful location outside of Santa Barbara, put together a three-day event – that was 2006. That’s what we consider our first official year because that’s the first time it was open to the public and a full weekend campout. About 1,200 people showed up, and it just grew slowly from there. We’re at upwards of 20,000 now.
Photo Credit: Daniel Zetterstrom
What’s it like to work with your brothers, Josh and Dede? What do each of you bring to the table?
We complement each other really well. I book all the music and oversee a lot of the content curation. Josh, my twin, is an amazing designer. He designs and oversees the building of all of our stages, structures, tents, and sculptures. Dede is more logistical-minded. He really kicks ass at getting permits and dealing with all the really tough conversations and situations – the police, fire, government, politics. The three of us together each bring something unique and different to the table.
The festival is going to be at Lake San Antonio again this year – and hopefully for years to come. What do you think is special about that location?
This location is amazing. It’s almost everything we’ve ever looked for. It’s centrally located in California, almost halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. But the best part is its seclusion – you’re way out there in the middle of nowhere, and it’s wild. There are tons of different animals running around. You can’t see anything manmade. It’s all just mountains and trees and hills.
Right now, the lake is dry because of the drought, but in a few years when we get more rain we’ll be able to swim out there and have boats, barges, and floating stages.
What’s the biggest risk The Do LaB has taken?
We’ve taken some pretty big financial risks. Anytime you throw a festival or large event, you’re pretty much gambling with a lot of money. We’ve been pretty lucky – we’ve built this from the ground up with no financial investment, no partners. We’ve had years where we lost a lot of money and we’ve just had to figure out how to carry those losses.
Photo Credit: Daniel Zetterstrom
With the incredible aesthetic of the festival, the artists likely have just as good a time as the attendees. Have you gotten to a point where artists that want to play are coming to you, or artists that have played are saying they want to come back?
Definitely. We put so much love into the structures and the stages, and the creativity of the festival. A lot of artists play all these corporate festivals, and they come here and say, “What IS this place? I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Artists go back on tour with other artists, and they’re telling these guys, “You’ve gotta play LIB, it’s the best festival I’ve ever played.” I have some of the biggest artists in the world knocking on our door trying to play.
What goes into booking your artists? Who’s the right fit for the festival?
For the music curation, I’m always trying to put together really positive, uplifting, feel-good music. Artists that are going to help us create the positive experience that we want LIB to be.
Who are you most looking forward to seeing perform this year?
Our headliner this year is Flume. I’ve been trying to book Flume for five years. I saw him at Coachella last year and I’ve never seen anybody wreck a crowd like he did. It was amazing.
Large-scale, interactive art installations are a huge part of what the Do LaB is known for. What do you want to communicate with your art?
The message with the art is the same as with the whole festival. We’re really trying to inspire people. We’re trying to show people a more creative way to live and a more creative way to do things. You could just put up a big truck stage… or you could build something really crazy and creative that nobody’s ever seen before.
Photo Credit: Daniel Zetterstrom
Why did you guys decide to bring in ISO50 (Scott Hansen of Tycho) as lead visual designer for this year’s festival?
Scott played a couple years ago, and he’s one of those artists that went back to his agent and said, “I absolutely love this festival.” I think he said it was one of his favorite festivals he’s ever played. When his agents told me that, I said, “We love his artwork too, we should try to get him to do the festival artwork.” It couldn’t be a better fit. His art and his music are a perfect representation visually and sonically of what Lightning in a Bottle is.
Talk about the Living Village, and how it came to life last year. It seems like you’re using the festival as an opportunity for cultural experimentation, to question social constructions and create a different type of community.
We’re always trying to introduce new ideas to people. We’re not saying, this is right and this is wrong – we’re just bringing different groups of people together, laying different ideas out on the table and letting people run around and experience what interests them. The Village is the latest area that has been created, and it’s trying to get to the roots of people living in villages and learn things like permaculture, ancestral arts, and natural crafts.
A lot of events are just about the music – and the music is probably the most important part for most people. But we’ve been noticing over the years that all these workshops and talks and classes are so well-attended. People could be out partying in front of a stage but instead they’re sitting in a class learning how to carve wood spoons or make beer.
“The real transformation is in the interactions that people have with each other.”
That really speaks to what your core audience is about – growth in any form, whether that’s transformation through a musical experience or interacting with a piece of art or learning something new.
I know that we’re classified as a “transformational” festival, and there’s a transformational festival movement happening. The first time I was at Coachella, I was transformed. People don’t consider that a transformational festival, but I think the real transformation is in the interactions that people have with each other. We’re trying to create different areas and environments where people are put together in intimate spaces. People walk away saying, “Wow, I’ve never met so many amazing, nice people. I never experienced anything like this.”
What do you think most fans of LIB don’t know about the festival?
How difficult it is to organize and produce, how long it takes, and how much money it costs. It costs a small fortune to create something like this and it takes us all year long. The minute we walk off-site from last year’s event, we’re at it again working on next year.
What are you dying to do that you haven’t done yet?
If that lake comes back, I’m dying to build a floating stage. I’ve always wanted to get some hot air balloons out there.
What will you never do?
We’re never going to do anything that doesn’t feel authentic or right for our audience and the festival. We really do care about the event more than anything. We care about the people more than anything.
Photo Credit: Daniel Zetterstrom
Who should come to LIB if they’ve never been before?
Anybody that feels like there’s a void in their life or feels like they don’t necessarily belong where they’re at. If they came to Lightning in a Bottle, it might open their eyes to a whole new way of living and show them a different path. We hear that all the time. People didn’t know what they were doing with their lives or didn’t know where they belonged, and then they came here and it opened them up to all these new possibilities.
Lightning in a Bottle is May 21-25, 2015 at San Antonio Recreation Area in Bradley, CA.